[El Zoido]

Glad I was at Old Trafford for this one, absolutely mental. Was fuming at half time because of how easily we give goals away, but the second half was simply fantastic. What a great European night.

 

[Martial]

Just saw the highlights and Bruno has 2 assists in a game he was getting pelters in! Most assists in CL so far this season as well. His record in CL for us is ridiculous, it’s 9 goals and assists in 9 games.

Bruno should have had about 5 assists in that game. Genuinely.

People are idiots.

 

[cyril C]

Highlight of this game should be about how many easy chances did we give away, and how many times did we waste in front of goals.

I thought we hire a set piece coach, but the way that we conceded on corner, without Varane, meant we have learnt nothing along the old boys

 

[Marcus]

We hit the post (McT) and bar (Rashford) as well. So the win was very much deserved. This was a much better performance than against Leicester.

 

[Posh Red]

Glad I was at Old Trafford for this one, absolutely mental. Was fuming at half time because of how easily we give goals away, but the second half was simply fantastic. What a great European night.

I had some old friends travel to Manchester for the game. At half time I felt so bad for them, but by the end it became one of their greatest old Trafford memories. Football bloody hell!

 

[Alek M]

Bruno carried us today. He should be motm.
These professionals need to be scoring easy chances.
Fred, Bruno, Ronaldo, Rashford has sitters.
Shaw needs to defend. Lindeloff too.
We created plenty. We deserved the win.

 

[jackal&hyde]

Safe for a few moments of bad defending in the first half, we were very good. Could have easily had a couple more and the players looked fired up and focused.

Hopefully we are over the poor spell we've been under the last few games and our defending improves.

 

[croadyman]

Like so many have said tonight's game felt eerily similar to Newcastle under Jose in 2018, can't decide if just pride kicked in for the players at the thought of a CL exit or his half time talk genuinely got a reaction from them

 

[Daengophile]

We could do a lot worse than bring Bruce in as defence consultant on a month by month basis

 

[Redfrog]

We won it 2008, so next year mate!

Well, he scored in November 2007…we won it in ´may 2008…

 

[RedBanker]

After their second goal I threw the TV remote, it bounced back off my PS4 and a bit of it broke and flew off to cause a cut on my kids forehead. The missus got incensed and picked up the broken remote and chucked it straight at the tv causing a major hole in the centre of the LED. Not satisfied, she proceeded to tip over the TV on the floor. Then I proceeded to tip her over from our 15th floor apartment. But we won. So it's all good.

 

[sport2793]

We hit the post (McT) and bar (Rashford) as well. So the win was very much deserved. This was a much better performance than against Leicester.

Ronaldo and Fred also missed sitters arguably. The xG was impressive for United today.

 

[sport2793]

Look it's no surprise that our form has dropped after Ronaldo has come in. The pressure is on the rest of the players and it's negatively impacted them. Plus Ronaldo will never press consistently, which means the rest of the team cannot press and has led to our pressing and recovery stats falling off a cliff. The only chance Ole has is if McFred gets back into form like in previous seasons, then there will be enough defensive cover to make it work. If another manager comes in then the hope would be that they get funds to spend to fix the midfield. Pogba in the double pivot will continue to be disastrous and the only reason he was good today is because Atalanta were permanently pegged back by that point in the match.

 

[LoneStar]

Ask any neutral who was the better team from start to finish, and they'll tell you it was us. But of course people here are gonna continue to moan. And if nothing else it proves at least Ronaldo is fully behind Ole. Not just the goal but the intensity of his performance today from the start.

We were definitely the better team over the course of the game. But that's not the point, we shouldn't have conceded two goals in the first place. All well and good if this was a blip, but we've been seeing this the whole season.

And of course Ronaldo will work his ass off. I don't think he'd want to play in the Europa league ever. Not saying they are against Ole, but the CL and the boos would also have played a part in their second half performance.

 

[Water Melon]

Agree with Scholes.

 

[Freak]

We actually played really well if you don't include defence. We need to do something about our defending - it's still shit.

 

[Deery]

Look it's no surprise that our form has dropped after Ronaldo has come in. The pressure is on the rest of the players and it's negatively impacted them. Plus Ronaldo will never press consistently, which means the rest of the team cannot press and has led to our pressing and recovery stats falling off a cliff. The only chance Ole has is if McFred gets back into form like in previous seasons, then there will be enough defensive cover to make it work. If another manager comes in then the hope would be that they get funds to spend to fix the midfield. Pogba in the double pivot will continue to be disastrous and the only reason he was good today is because Atalanta were permanently pegged back by that point in the match.

Bullshit Ronaldo was the only reason we won that match the man was everywhere and without him we’d never have gotten a result.

 

[passtheball]

Papering over the cracks.

1. 12th consecutive home-game without a clean sheet.
2. Conceding chances all game. De Gea pulling worldies after having conceded 2 already (much like the Leicester game).
3. Ole starting McFred again and unable to see how that leaves us with a 4-2-4.
4. Unable to make Fernandes support McFred (not a criticism of Bruno individually; he was great).
5. Unable to make our wingers (Rashford and Greendwood in this game) track back enough.
6. Not putting enough crosses with Ronaldo in the team (see what he can do!).
6. Atalanta missing multiple first team players.

All the problems that will prevent us from competing in the league and for the CL remain.

Agree with Scholes.

For once, an ex-United player not getting carried away by a result.

 

[sport2793]

Bullshit Ronaldo was the only reason we won that match the man was everywhere and without him we’d never have gotten a result.

Yes, Ronaldo pressed this time around but it's been well-documented that he does not press normally. Anyways my point wasn't so much that Ronaldo not pressing was the issue but that the rest of the side has not gotten used to working around that. Obviously the pros of Ronaldo far outweigh any cons and he has to be accommodated for this side to improve from previous seasons. The coaching staff is equally responsible in not finding the right balance and that's why we look so open defensively.

 

[Berbasbullet]

The united players?

He didn't get past the first Atalanta player

I’m not saying it was a good idea or well executed, I’m just telling you what he was trying to do.

 

[Spark]

Agree with Scholes.

Yeah spot on.

 

[LisburnWhite]

Bruno carried us today. He should be motm.
These professionals need to be scoring easy chances.
Fred, Bruno, Ronaldo, Rashford has sitters.
Shaw needs to defend. Lindeloff too.
We created plenty. We deserved the win.

I must have been watching a different game. Love Bruno but thought he was not great last night.

 

[Amir]

Bullshit Ronaldo was the only reason we won that match the man was everywhere and without him we’d never have gotten a result.

ONLY reason?

I'd probably rethink that a little.

 

[red4ever 79]

Yes, Ronaldo pressed this time around but it's been well-documented that he does not press normally. Anyways my point wasn't so much that Ronaldo not pressing was the issue but that the rest of the side has not gotten used to working around that. Obviously the pros of Ronaldo far outweigh any cons and he has to be accommodated for this side to improve from previous seasons. The coaching staff is equally responsible in not finding the right balance and that's why we look so open defensively.

How do you justify the poor results at the back end of last season, prior to Ronaldo joining?

 

[Deery]

ONLY reason?

I'd probably rethink that a little.

I will not, if it wasn’t for Ronaldo’s winning mentality clearing balls in his own box and scoring in theirs we wouldn’t have won that game he was the something extra that pushed us over the line.

 

[Matt007a]

A good 45 minutes doesn’t cancel out several games of mediocrity. It was a great comeback but the same problems still remain.

Why did the players give so much more tonight than they would against a mid table EPL side? Perhaps they don’t want to be playing a dozen Europa League games again this season. I don’t believe the manager has suddenly become an inspiration to the lads, so much so that they’ve finally started running and putting in the hard yards.

We normally put in these kind of performances against City where the motivation probably comes from elsewhere. When we play like that every week and leave nothing out there against a side like Burnley then I’ll be convinced and change my mind.

 

[elmo]

Bruno should have had about 5 assists in that game. Genuinely.

People are idiots.

You should see the Bruno performance thread, there's some idiots who think that Bruno should be dropped because of how 'sloppy' he plays

 

[DickDastardly]

January window is the target now.

Sell Dean, sell Donny. We have zero use from both.

Fund the costs for a cheaky bid for one of Rice/Tielemans/Bissouma.

 

[elmo]

I must have been watching a different game. Love Bruno but thought he was not great last night.

You're definitely watching a different game from everybody else unless you think he needs to score a hat trick to have a great game.

 

[justsomebloke]

We hit the post (McT) and bar (Rashford) as well. So the win was very much deserved. This was a much better performance than against Leicester.

If the starting point is that Leicester defined the low point in a performance crisis that is fundamentally about not having a functioning all-round game, then the positive takeaways from this game are limited though. Maybe, just maybe, we could take the second half and the offensive performance in general as a tentative sign that we are beginning to click with the way we are playing offensively. Also, that having Rashford back helps, by giving us someone who constantly threatens the space behind the opposition's defensive line and so helps stretch them. But we are still not controlling the game, and defensively this looked as worrying as anything we've seen this season. I'm not just talking about going two down, what is incomprehensible to me is how we drop deep without any pressure being put even on the ball-carrier. Whether its the defenders looking to play the ball up from within their own half, players carrying it into ours or someone with the ball close to our own box, they are with few exceptions allowed to take their time, assess their options and make the pass to a teammate that has pulled into an open position, almost without interference. You can't defend just by dropping down and keeping a compact shape.

 

[DRJosh]

In the old Fergie days this performance would have been considered a blip in form or a fortuitous victory given how shambolic our defence was in the first half.

I’d argue that we have better superstar players now for the exception of our midfield.

 

[Bobcat]

Agree with Scholes.

Didn't Scholes say after Leichester that we needed to back Ole and that he should see out the season?

Despite losing 0-2 we were cleraly the better team in 1st half as well and Atalanta scoring 2 goals from one chance and one corner is ridicolously efficient, where as Leichester was absymal from start to finish

I love Scholes, but his punditry only seems to based on being a contrarian, often conrtadicting himself along the way

 

[Desert Eagle]

Bruno had a poor first half and a good second half like most players.

 

[Amir]

January window is the target now.

While it's not what you meant, it's actually an accurate description: Nowadays our highlights every year are the transfer windows.

 

[Amir]

In the old Fergie days this performance would have been considered a blip in form or a fortuitous victory given how shambolic our defence was in the first half.

Yeah, in those days we'd see the second half as fixing a bad first one, and nothing more. Certainly not talk about heroic comebacks in the group stage against a good but not great side who suffered from injuries. But these are the standards at the moment.

 

[sugar_kane]

We were nowhere near as bad (poor defending for the goals aside) in the first half as people have made out, but whatever suits the narrative I suppose. It was clear that wanker Jake Humphreys on BT was desperate to push that angle at half time, certainly.

We started bright and eventually worked together some good chances, even though our form and confidence has been in the bin.

The second half was great entertainment and if you couldn’t enjoy it as a United fan then I pity you, genuinely.

It’s inconceivable to think that any United fan wouldn’t have gone nuts when Ronaldo scored the winner but suspect there are some on this forum for whom that was the case.

Would honestly recommend they find another club if that’s the case, for the sake of their own sanity and ours.

 

[Dike_Manc]

If I were manager I would consistently sub each and every player out of a game if their intensity does not match this 2nd half.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

The hang time on Ronaldo’s header was unreal. It’s like he just floated in the air, gravity means nothing to him.

 

[Josh 76]

We were nowhere near as bad (poor defending for the goals aside) in the first half as people have made out, but whatever suits the narrative I suppose. It was clear that wanker Jake Humphreys on BT was desperate to push that angle at half time, certainly.

We started bright and eventually worked together some good chances, even though our form and confidence has been in the bin.

The second half was great entertainment and if you couldn’t enjoy it as a United fan then I pity you, genuinely.

It’s inconceivable to think that any United fan wouldn’t have gone nuts when Ronaldo scored the winner but suspect there are some on this forum for whom that was the case.

Would honestly recommend they find another club if that’s the case, for the sake of their own sanity and ours.

Good post.
There are some Utd fans on here who will be supporting Liverpool on Sunday. Can’t and never will get my head around that. Wanting Liverpool to win is criminal, wanting them to win at OT is the death penalty in my book .

As for that scouse prick Humphreys, the less said about him the better!

 

[IncyWincySpider]

Hugely entertaining match from start to finish, I even enjoyed the first half in a way, because I knew there would be a reaction in the second.

I hope every game is like that now - frantic, desperate, full of passion, with the added jeopardy that the next loss could be Ole's last. At least we've got some excitement back!